This Woman's Eyebrow Microblading Horror Story Will Terrify You

Beauty enthusiasts, make no mistake: Eyebrows are the boobs of the face. Care for them in the right way, with the proper tools and treatments, and it can feel like you slipped on the brow equivalent of a Wonderbra — with results that are just as lifted. Perhaps that's the reason so many people have groomed, plucked, over-plucked, feathered, and bleached their arches into oblivion. But, like knocking back red wine coolers on a weekday, all it takes is one wrong move to enter the danger zone.

That is why, when we read one woman's eyebrow horror story on Teen Vogue, we wanted to crawl into a dark corner and cry for her. It started simply enough, with Twitter user @chaeronaea posting someone's story about a microblading (a.k.a. brow tattooing) treatment in Sydney. But sometimes, when you place the fate of your face in the hands of a stranger, things can go awry — fast. At first glance, the final look appears to be a bold feathered effect, but upon closer evaluation, you can see that the ink is... well, a bit wonky. Shudder.

"I just got them done today is there any way to remove them or I have to get it lasered off? I'm completely shattered," the woman said. It's a great question: If someone completely botches your brows, is there anything that can be done? We reached out to Kendra Bray, the founder and owner of Better Brows in New York City, to find out.

The short answer is yes — but it's not going to be easy. "There are ways to get rid of a bad microblading job, laser tattoo removal being the most common," Bray says. "However, there are also saline-based products out there that you inject into the skin — just like you do the pigment during the microblading process — which helps pull out the pigment during the scabbing process. It can take multiple sessions."

Another option is to immediately wash the eyebrows after the treatment. "In that case, chances of getting out all the pigment in the skin are slim to none," she says. Honestly, there's no worse kind of buyer's remorse.